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Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

forbes.com

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Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#591

Post by xyzzyz »

maigret wrote: post #566
gambiting wrote: post #506

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just saying "look at Tokyo" doesn't mean anything. How exactly would you change London to be more like tokyo? As the simplest question - which areas of London would you demolish to make room for high density Japanese housing? Alternatively, if you're going to build wide, how would you connect those areas with the centre, if building new metro lines is pretty much impossible in London for historical reasons? "London's…

Thinking out loud: - Ask for 90% of the buildings to be less than 120% of the average price. - Have lottery system for lot allocation - Make it easy for groups and communities to buy lots - Cap the lot prices per sqf - Evaluate the projects on the community impacts vs $$$ See also this to understand how capitalist architecture makes everyone miserable: https://youtu.be/VoYZlyBHyQM

You are asking for price controls. Historically, those have almost universally decreased availability and exacerbated shortages.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#592

Post by dzikimarian »

alkjsdlkjasd wrote: post #66
raphaelj wrote: post #36

Somewhat unrelated to the article, but I live in a mid-size EU city and dumped my car for an e-bike a few months ago. Surprisingly, it hasn't been that hard (my GF kept her car, and I have a car-sharing subscription): Pros: - Immediately stopped having insomnia. Better feel overall; - about €300/month in additional disposable income. That's basically a free lunch everyday! - significantly faster if parking is taken i…

> - weather might make the ride unpleasant; As the Dutch like to say: there is no such thing as bad cycling weather, only bad cycling clothes. I would strongly recommond a pair of water/wind proof trousers to go over your regular trousers, if you don't already have some. This has lead to a much more pleasant riding experience, especially in winter. They aren't very practical on a regular bike as they make you uncomfo…

> there is no such thing as bad cycling weather

Wet snow being blown into the face? Compared to 20°C inside a car, commuting between two underground garages? That's going to be a hard to sell.

In the summer bike is fun, but from November, where I live it's just masochism.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#593

Post by sebcat »

raphaelj wrote: post #36

Somewhat unrelated to the article, but I live in a mid-size EU city and dumped my car for an e-bike a few months ago. Surprisingly, it hasn't been that hard (my GF kept her car, and I have a car-sharing subscription): Pros: - Immediately stopped having insomnia. Better feel overall; - about €300/month in additional disposable income. That's basically a free lunch everyday! - significantly faster if parking is taken i…

> you will not kill someone if you ride after a night drinking

You might however end up at the hospital doing that, or worse.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#594

Post by Xylakant »

nicehill wrote: post #207
Xylakant wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meet Oulu, the winter cycling capital of the world. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2021/01/22/meet-the-bike-... https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/what-on-earth-winter-biking-...

Fascinating How do Europeans keep ice off bike lanes? Salt?

This video is a great explainer https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#595

Post by bartread »

scott_w wrote: post #293
bartread wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Isn‘t the same statement true for car drivers? In theory I agree with you, but in practice the behavioural differences are noticeable, at least in Cambridge. One example (admittedly anecdata from somebody who spends a lot of time on the road using different modes of transport, including foot): lots of cyclists blow through red lights, (relatively speaking) very few car drivers do so. Of course, the stakes of a car…

> What I'm contending against is not cycling as a mode of transport, but the assumption that with greater adoption of cycling comes greater safety. The Netherlands has a massive cycling uptake and has some of the safest roads in Europe. What you say simply doesn’t hold water. Cyclists are simply not killing in the numbers that car drivers are.

Yeah, but The Netherlands isn't Cambridge, UK.

For one, The Netherlands has great cycling infrastructure, at least places where I've been: Cambridge, UK doesn't.

Again, from what I've seen, cyclists in The Netherlands tend to behave quite a bit better than they do here in the UK (drivers too, for that matter).

Moreover, what condition is the infrastructure in? I don't know about The Netherlands but I can tell you that in Cambridge, UK, it's littered with potholes, and often to some extent multi-modal.

You can't just forklift an insight about cycling in The Netherlands and expect things to work the same somewhere else without making a whole load of stuff happen beyond just encouraging lots more people to cycle if you want to actually make it safer. In Cambridge, UK, we need both solid investment and cultural change (both cyclists and, yes, motorists too) for cycling to become a safer option.

Am I being clear enough for you now?

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#596

Post by Maxburn »

sofixa wrote: post #503
Maxburn wrote: post #393

I haven't done my research but from what I've gathered from news over the years hasn't London had very high car tax, tolls, super expensive gas, and just outright closing streets and eliminating parking? So with a big enough stick and very little carrot anything is possible? Is that a win? Aren't we hearing that actual residents really don't like these "15 minute" cities?

> with a big enough stick and very little carrot anything is possible Yep, so all those complaining that nothing is being done or can be done about climate change are wrong. There are tools, they just need to be used. > Aren't we hearing that actual residents really don't like these "15 minute" cities? We're also hearing that Zuckerberg is a lizard and the Earth is flat, so fucking what? London is a major metropolis,…

Do you live there? In a utopian ideal it seems kind of nice having "everything you need" close by. Thinking about it critically I currently live in a 15 minute city, but there is a car involved. I'm kind of confused about how people living in mass transit even get groceries, can you take your own cart on the train?

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#597

Post by tfourb »

matsemann wrote: post #118
raphaelj wrote: post #36

Somewhat unrelated to the article, but I live in a mid-size EU city and dumped my car for an e-bike a few months ago. Surprisingly, it hasn't been that hard (my GF kept her car, and I have a car-sharing subscription): Pros: - Immediately stopped having insomnia. Better feel overall; - about €300/month in additional disposable income. That's basically a free lunch everyday! - significantly faster if parking is taken i…

> - might be impossible depending on work or children; The newer style of cargo bikes can for many families replace a car. Have two kids seated in the trunk of the bike and drop them off at kindergarten, then continue biking to work and pick them up on the way home. Those are a bit on the pricier side, though. Still cheap compared to a car, but people often look at them as something "extravagant" or "in addition" to…

We live in a very small town and I built a cargo bike from scratch to drive my (disabled) son to school. Excellent experience, despite not having motor assist. We still own a car, but we can easily make do with that one car now, where we would likely have had to buy a second one without the cargo bike. And having built it myself, it cost below 1,000€, including the welder I used to construct it.

My sister lives in Berlin, has a very young child and just bought an electrified cargo bike. She is not a bike rider, never has been, but loves it. Great alternative not only to a car in a crowded city, but also to crowded public transport if you are transporting a small human.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#598

Post by bartread »

planede wrote: post #253
bartread wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Isn‘t the same statement true for car drivers? In theory I agree with you, but in practice the behavioural differences are noticeable, at least in Cambridge. One example (admittedly anecdata from somebody who spends a lot of time on the road using different modes of transport, including foot): lots of cyclists blow through red lights, (relatively speaking) very few car drivers do so. Of course, the stakes of a car…

I'm also in Cambridge. Many car drivers are also dickheads, at least they think that using the indicator is optional when leaving a roundabout. This mostly annoys me when I'm on foot and try to cross the street near a roundabout. I found traffic in Cambridge to be very hostile to pedestrians.

> Many car drivers are also dickheads

Yes.

I know.

If you actually read what I said carefully you'll note that I said some portion of the population: a very general statement which is inclusive of both cyclists and motorists. I am an equal opportunities disparager.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#599

Post by danjoredd »

ehnto wrote: post #18
lscdlscd wrote: post #2

Amazing news! More cyclists (and fewer motorists) on the streets creates a safer, less polluted city environment for everyone.

Quieter too. When wandering Tokyo I started asking myself, why does it feel so quiet when there are so many people and so much advertising? Then you hit one of the roads with cars, and you realise just how much road noise impacts a space. It is obvious in theory but I bet most of us in car-centric cities have learned to live with it so much, that it doesn't cross our minds as the source of discomfort.

Even in the middle of the country you can hear cars. I lived in the country and you could see the road about a mile away, and when I put my ear to the ground I could still hear the cars when one would pass by every once in a while

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#600

Post by truthsayer123 »

textread wrote: post #558

I was finding it difficult to stick to cycling. Hearing my plight, an avid cyclist friend of mine suggested me to try a trick:- Get a 3 way folding cycle such as the Brompton. Now, play around with hybrid modes of transport. My programmer's brain loves building abstractions neatly on top of each other. Folding my cycle and carrying it onto another form of transport brings a smile to my face every time. The biggest to…

You need to do mediation. You think too much about abstractions. And is not able to focus on what is real.

Here is a free one month trial.

You can try other apps as well but waking up app was the one I found best.

https://dynamic.wakingup.com/shareOpenAccess/SCB2E2075

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